Category: discovery draft
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Friday’s Findings
I’m doing word sprints in preparation for NaNoWriMo. Yes, I’m training like an athlete trains for a race. In this case, I sit in my chair, set my phone for 20 minutes and write non-stop on my WIP (not my NaNoWriMo project). If you think about it, isn’t this a great way to write a…
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Story Structure: 3-Acts
Dozens of ways to construct your story exist. Probably the most popular is the 3-Act platform; it’s a classic. With NaNoWriMo approaching, people are looking for ways to put their story together–except for panters, but that’s a different story. One thing to remember: no story structure is better or worse than another. Just use one…
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Brainstorming for NaNoWriMo (or for any story you want to write)
Whether a writer is a planner or pantser, wither can engage in some minimal planning for NaNoWriMo. If he or she doesn’t want to think about it until twelve midnight on November first, nothing wrong with that. However, they may want to lay some groundwork for their 50,000 word story—nothing wrong with that either—as long…
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Friday’s Findings
I made some big headway this week as I plan my story for National Novel Writing Month 2021. I have my protagonist sketched out. I have my plot summarized for each scene. If it were November 1st, I’d be all set. This year I’m taking a month from my regular writing projects to write a…
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One Way to Get Ideas for Writing Stories
Potential spoilers: If you haven’t watched Love and Monsters and plan to, you should know the following post has some potential spoilers. Are you looking for an idea for writing your next short story or novel? Are you coming up with nada? Well, look out. The following is just one way to generate an idea…
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Start The Scene With Action And Dialogue
Okay, this is a long post. Just warning you. This good news is you can just read the highlights in bold to get the gist for each section. This post is for reference as you may want to experiment with the writing exercise I’ve fleshed out in the following paragraphs. In the previous post, I…
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Friday’s Findings: A Fiction writing Experiment in Layering
I’ve been experimenting with layering as a way to develop a scene. One aspect of layering I find helpful is how it can focus on the dialogue and action. I believe those two fiction elements are where a writer should begin when writing a scene draft. Here’s how I’ve been doing it: I make a…
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How I Write My Scenes
“How do I write this story?” Take a deep breath. Writing a novel or short story starts with writing one word. Then one sentence. Then one paragraph. Then one scene. Stop right there. Let’s focus on the scene in fiction writing. Scenes are the basic building blocks of the fiction process, but how do I…
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Writing Style Outcasts: Telling
Geez, “telling” gets treated like like the weird kid at school, but it’s an important tool in the writing and editing process. Stop harassing it! You’ve all heard, “Show don’t tell.” The thing is, the writer is suppose to use both. Usually, I use telling at the beginning of the scene. If the reader needs…
Andrew M. Friday 